Sunday, September 4, 2011

Pound Cake French Toast

I have been pretty good about making sure that one day a week (usually Sundays) I make an actual breakfast. I've never been a big breakfast lover in my life, but when I do eat breakfasts I prefer them to be sweet. This lends itself well to pancakes, crepes, and french toast.

I don't think I've made french toast since Mother's Day many years ago. I have a feeling I burnt it also, because that's how me and the kitchen used to communicate - I would try to cook something, it would burn miserably, and then I'd just be pissed and hungry. I'm really glad the kitchen and I learned to get along better, because I really don't like the taste of charred anything.

I mean, is anyone?

Anyway, I was inspired to make this french toast while reading A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg for Cook the Books. I really enjoyed the book and how Molly connected stories with her recipes, stories that reminded her of the recipes or were the inspiration to those recipes. Because really, everything we cook tells a story - even the shrimp over ramen noodles I made for dinner tonight. The story with that was, I didn't have anything planned and was trying to just use stuff in the house that wasn't promised to other dinners for the week.

While I was reading Molly's book, she talks about a delicious pound cake that her mom would make. In the notes, she writes, "the next morning,their friend warmed leftover slices on the grill for breakfast." As I read that I thought NOMMMMMMMM!!! And then I thought OOOOHHH FRENCH TOAST POUND CAKE.

As I continued to read I found that Molly's dad, Burg, loved to make french toast. And then I knew, I'd do it.

Of course, this isn't a breakfast for anyone dieting. But it is hearty!

I made the bread the night before and let it sit out overnight. Then I made french toast of it in the morning.

Pound Cake French Toast

Ingredients - for the bread

2 cups + 8 tbsp cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

5 large eggs

1 2/3 cups sugar

2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, diced at room temperature

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup blueberries, rinsed and dried well

Directions - for the bread

1. Preheat oven to 300. In a loaf pan, spray with Pam and then dust with flour.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups plus 6 tbsp of flour, the baking powder, and the salt.

3. In a food processor, blend the eggs and sugar for 1 minute. Add the butter and lemon juice and pulse for another minute, until fluffy.

4. In a large bowl toss the blueberries with 2 tbsp of flour. Pour the batter over the berries and fold gently until combined, main sure that all the flour is absorbed. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean, about 1 and a half hours.

5. Cool over night.

Ingredients - for the french toast

3 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp kosher salt

pinch of nutmeg

canola oil for frying

6 slices of the blueberry pound cake bread

Directions - for the french toast

1. Break the eggs into a wide, shallow bowl. Whisk the eggs. Add the milk, sugar, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg. Whisk to blend.

2. Place a heavy skillet over medium-high heat and pour in enough oil to completely coat the bottom of the skillet. Let the oil heat.

3. Put 2-3 slices of bread into the egg mixture, resting 30 seconds per side. Place the slices on a skillet. Cook until the underneath of each slice is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other side. Remove and place on a paper towel and sit for a minute before serving.

I have always wanted to try the pound cake recipe, but I would NEVER have thought to make French toast out of it! Looks decadent, delicious, and superb. Everything that would make a perfect brunch. Nice way to start out the CTB Club this month.

I confess I love making French toast and I like trying to make it with different breads. The most decadent one I ever made was with panettone. I like the addition of blueberries to the cake. Nice choice for Cook the Books.